A day trip on Hurtigruten (1997)
This
classical boat design is called "Nordland boat", and
I took the photo in the Balsfjord near Tromsoe. Nordland boats
were very common in former centuries and have been used along
the Norwegian coasts for fishing and freight transports. Nordland
boats have been preserved or rebuilt in the last decades.
Today's coastal traffic is managed by "Hurtigruten", the famous coastal liners of Norway. We booked a day trip at the Tromsoe Tourist office, which included a bus tour along the Balsfjord to Finnsnes, from where we returned with the ship.
At 11.30
we were in Finnsnes, where the "Polarlys" was ready
for departure. Just when the ship had left the pier, one more
passenger came running. To my astonishment, the ship stopped
immediately and very slowly and cautiously moved back.
The
maneuver took about ten minutes until the board could be lowered.
In the meantime two bikers had arrived. They were happy to get
the ship.
The
tour included a lunch on the ship, and afterwards we looked saround
. The entrance hall was imposing.
The
weather was sunny and warm, and so we sat on the deck and enjoyed
the sun.
At about
3 p.m. we reached Tromso again.
"Kong
Harald" is one of the ships that we observed during the
following days. If you want to read more about the ships and
schedules, try the Website of Hurtigruten.